A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly - it's a great 'coming of age' novel set in the early 1900s and is loosely based on a real life murder that happened in the area at the time. I read it for a Children's Literature class and loved it.

I just googled The Ruby in the Smoke, having watched it on Masterpiece Theater on Sunday night. It is listed as a YA book, along with two more books featuring the heroine.

I looked it up because I found the performance confusing and hard to follow and wanted to see if it was from a book. Contrarily, it was a play first and then he wrote the book; but the following two were written as books. The last one got the best reviews.

The play was quite Dickensian, as are the books, I assume.

My daughter had the same interests, some of her favourites

Zlata's Diary~ Zlata Filipovic, war in Bosnia
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit ~ Judith Kerr
Shabanu ~ Suzanne Fisher Staples ~ Pakistan
Waiting For Anya ~ Michael Morpurgo ~ WW2, France & Spain

Number The Stars Lois Lowry
"Set in Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943, this 1990 Newbery winner tells of a 10-year-old girl who undertakes a dangerous mission to save her best friend. Ages 10-14. "

I Capture the Castle Dodie Smith
"Cassandra Mortmain captures the castle not with trebuchet or battering ram but with her pen. At a low point in the Mortmains' life in their castle, 17-year-old Cassandra begins a journal vividly describing her family's unusual life and her feelings about growing up."...Smith also wrote 101 Dalmations

Anything by Ann Rinaldi. She writes as far as I can tell accurate historical fiction with well developed characters and a strong plot. I especially liked "The Coffin Quilt" and "An Acquaintance with Darkness."

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth Speare is also a strong female adolescent protagonist-set in colonial New England

I'd check with the local library, especially if they have a YA librarian. The YA librarian is usually very in touch with what's out there & can make suggestions.

Try "Chinese Cinderella," a memoir written by Adeline Yen Mah.
Her story takes place mostly in China where she lived with her father, stepmother, numerous siblings and extended family. Her own mother died giving birth to her and she felt largely unwanted and rejected during her youth. In our local library, this book is shelved with adult non-fiction but my own pre-teen and several of her friends read it and found it fascinating.

Another good choice would be "Secret Girl" by Molly Bruce Jacobs. Another memoir, it covers Jacobs building a relationship with her mentally retarded sister living in an instituion. Jacobs' privileged family essentially warehoused the sister in a state home, igngoring her and only telling Jacobs of the sister when Jacobs was a pre-teen herself. This book, too, is considered an adult book but I did allow my daughter to read it.

While I don't have a specific book in mind, your daughter may enjoy reading about the Romanov family, especially Anastasia and her sisters and brother.

Ian Serraillier's The Silver Sword is the story of 3 children displaced in WWII, trying to rejoin their families. It's also been published as Escape from Warsaw. It's supposedly based on true events.

Aranka Siegal has written 2 books based on her own life in Hungary during WWII - I've read the first one, Upon the Head of the Goat: A Childhood in Hungary 1939-1944, which I think was a Newbery honor book back in the early 90's. IIRC, the first book ended with Siegal arriving at Auschwitz.

Or Robert Westall's The Machine Gunners set in England. The Greatest Skating Race by Louise Borden is a picture book that may be little young for a 12 y/o, but the WWII story is worth reading: it's set in the Netherlands about a boy who must escort to refuge 2 children whose father has been arrested.

I second the Lois Lowry book mentioned above.

Finally, you might consider Paul Gallico's The Snow Goose.

Thank you, everyone for all the great suggestions. My daughter will be thrilled! Most of the books you recommended sound perfect for her.

An Owl on Every Post by Sanora Babb ... recalls her family's attempt to practice dry-land farming in eastern Colorado in 1913. Leaving the relative security of a small town in Oklahoma, the mother and two daughters travel by train and wagon to join the father and grandfather at their isolated dugout. Here, Sanora (nicknamed Cheyenne) gradually comes to love her withdrawn grandfather and to appreciate the harsh beauty of the prairie environment.

Kathy's recent post on Afghanistan reminded me of another excellent story by Deborah Ellis.

Actually 2 books about a 12 year old girl surviving the Taliban oppression in Afghanistan, the first is The Breadwinner, the sequel is Parvana's Journey .

Some of these she may have already read, but I thought I'd throw them out just in case!

Julie of the Wolves - Jean Craighead George
Walk Two Moons - Sharon Creech
Island of the Blue Dolphins - Scott O'Dell
Out of the Dust - Karen Hesse
Esperanza Rising - Pam Munoz Ryan
Where the Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Mildred Taylor

also Gloria Whelan's books